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Rajasthan Royals held their nerves to register their first win of Tata IPL 2025 as they beat Chennai Super Kings by 6 runs in a close encounter in Guwahati.

Picture : IPL / X

Needing a win to keep their play- offs hopes alive , Defending Champions Chennai Super Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by 5 wickets in a Tata IPL 2024 encounter in  hot , humid conditions in Chennai.

Earlier, RR Skipper Sanju Samson opted to bat first on rather slow pitch which had plenty to offer to bowlers . RR batting was subdued from the start . CSK bowlers kept things tight. RR openers – Yashasvi Jaiswal  24 ( 21  balls, 3 fours , 1 six) and Jos Buttler  21  (  25 balls , 2 fours) were somewhat  uncharacteristic in their stay in the middle. The explosive start that RR were looking for never came .

Pressure mounted on others too and they too fell in the process . Skipper Sanju Samson ( 15 ) , Dhruv Jurel ( 28) could not convert the starts . Riyan Parag  was the only one  who showed  intent and ended up not  on 47  (  35 balls , 1 four, 3 sixes) . RR finishing at 141/ 5 in their 20 overs. A Total good 25- 30 runs short that would have been competitive.

CSK bowling barring some dropped catches were sharp . Tushar Deshpande 2/ 30 ( 4 overs)  , Maheesh Theekshana 0/ 28 ( 4 overs), Shardul Thakur 0/ 32 ( 4 overs) , Simarjeet Singh was outstanding 3/ 26 ( 4 overs) , he bagged the first three wickets. Ravindra Jadeja 0/ 24 ( 4 overs)

In reply CSK  were steady – opener  Rachin Ravindra  scored 27 ( 18 balls , 1 four, 2 sixes) , Skipper  Ruturaj Gaikwad batted all the way through and remained not out 42 ( 41 balls, 1 four, 2 sixes) . Daryl Mitchell scored (22) , Moeen Ali ( 10), Shivam Dube ( 18) , Ravindra Jadeja was given out obstructing the field for 5 . Sameer Rizvi was not out 15  ( 8 balls , 3 fours ). CSK reaching 145/ 5  in 18. 2 overs to win by 5 wickets.

RR were let down with the  bat. Bowlers  tried hard but the total was simply not enough . Trent Bout  0/ 24 ( 2. 2 overs) , Sandeep Sharma 0/ 30 ( 3 overs), Ravichandran Ashwin 2/ 35 ( 4 overs), Nandre Burger 1/ 21 ( 3 overs), Yuzvendra Chahal 1/ 22 ( 4 overs) , Avesh Khan 0/ 12 ( 2 overs)

Rajasthan Royals stay put in second place, behind Kolkata Knight Riders, with 16 points. CSK now third on the points table.

RR Impact Player: Nandre Burger replaces Dhruv Jurel CSK Impact Player: Sameer Rizvi replaces Daryl Mitchell